Vocab
Non–native species introduced to a new environment can often become problematic earning them this name:
What is invasive species?
A messy transition between two different successional stages or ecosystems. Animal like the northern bobwhite thrive in this area.
What is edge?
Plants rooted in the bottom of a pond with leaves sticking out above the surface of the water.
What is emergent vegetation?
Name 2 birds are considered invasive in urban and rural areas in the midwest. (3-4 correct answers)
What are European starlings, rock pigeons, house sparrows, and house finches (native to SW North America, introduced to midwest and east coast)
This acrobatic mammal can make a home in riparian forests with lots of hollow trees, soft mast, and crayfish, but it's also happy to live in your barn and feast on your garbage.
What is a raccoon?
Species like mourning doves, ring-necked pheasants, and white-tailed deer that are legal to hunt.
What are game species?
This grassland bird was once common across Iowa, but today is only found in a small reintroduced range in Southwest Iowa where they need very large tracts of rangeland containing diverse grass and forb communities free of tall vertical structures.
What is greater prairie-chicken?
This small dabbling duck is associated with ephemeral wetlands, inland, marshes, lakes, and ponds where they feed and rest. But their nests are in grasslands adjacent to these areas.
What is a blue-winged teal?
This bird's unique lifestyle includes building nests out of lichen and feeding on nectar rather than insects or seeds.
What is a ruby-throated hummingbird?
Don't let the size fool you! This small insect eating mammal can fit through a hole the size of a matchbox (allowing it to roost in your attic), but it is more closely related to lemurs than mice.
What is a big brown bat?
An ecoregion with many people living in it, that may be may fragmented by roads, and building. It may be home to both native and invasive plant and animal species.
What is an urban area?
This small bird may be named after the high pitched buzzing sound it makes, or after the insect that makes up most of it's diet, during summers in the tallgrass prairie.
What is grasshopper sparrow?
This sunfish species likes aquatic environments with submerged rocks, woody debris, and aquatic vegetation.
What is bluegill?
This species is a cavity nester who builds it's own nest. Later other species might move into the holes this bird drills in trees.
What is a northern flicker?
What is an eastern cottontail?
A group of animals of the same species in the same place. For example all of the greater prairie-chickens in Kellerton Grasslands Wildlife Area.
What is population?
A reptile who lives in loose sandy soil, and deters predators by mimicking a cobra, releasing strong scent, or faking it's own death.
What is plains hog-nosed snake?
This underwater predator eats invertebrates like worms, crayfish, zooplankton when it's young and smaller fish, and ducklings as it gets older.
What is a largemouth bass?
This colorful cavity nester benefits from boxes placed out to provide more cover, especially because it is often displaced by non-native cavity nesters such as the European starling.
What is an eastern bluebird?
This large game species benefits form edge habitat that humans make, where it can browse on leaves in the forest, or nibble plants in your field or garden, it just needs to watch out for cars or hunters.
What is white-tailed deer?
All of biotic things in one ecosystem. For example all of the grass, trees, birds, mammals, and insects in Diamond Lake Park.
What is community?
A omnivore who eats carrion, small rodents, eggs and even hard and soft mast. This mammal hides in brushy cover by day and raises their young in dens. (2 correct answers)
What are a red fox and a coyote?
These are qualities of ponds and lakes that effect whether animals habitat needs are met. (Name at least 1)
What are: dissolved oxygen, pH (acidic or basic water), water temperature, aquatic plants, cover such as underwater branches or rocks?
A small ground nesting bird recognized by it's brown and white speckled chest or it's the fact that males sing long and complicated songs to impress the females.
What is a song sparrow?
The drey, or leafy nest of this tree-top mammal can sometimes be confused with large bird's nests.
What is an eastern gray squirrel?